Sport and Games Atlas

How The Game Is Played
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Sport

Taekwondo

TY-kwon-DOH, IPA /ˌtaɪkwɒnˈdoʊ/; Korean 태권도
Also Known As Tae Kwon Do Alternate romanization commonly used in English before the Revised Romanization spelling became standard.
Combat Sports

General Choi Hong Hi proposed the name Taekwondo on 11 April 1955, drawing on Korean Taekkyon together with elements of karate, and secured authorization from South Korean President Syngman Rhee. Choi founded the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) in Seoul in 1966; after Choi went into exile, the South Korean government backed a rival body, the World Taekwondo Federation, established at the Kukkiwon in Seoul on 28 May 1973 and now known as World Taekwondo, which the International Olympic Committee recognizes and which has governed Olympic taekwondo since Sydney 2000.

Facts
Origin Year
1955 1
Marks General Choi Hong Hi proposal of the name Taekwondo on 11 April 1955. The organizational lineage that followed is contested: Choi own International Taekwon-Do Federation (1966) and the Olympic-recognized World Taekwondo (1973, from the Kukkiwon founded 1972) trace to this same naming moment but split over it; see the recorded dissent on this fact.
Originating Region
Korea (for General Choi Hong Hi's 1955 naming and the sport's wider Korean martial-arts lineage). 1
International Governing Body
World Taekwondo (WT), established as the World Taekwondo Federation in Seoul, South Korea, on 28 May 1973, headquartered at the Kukkiwon; the earlier International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded in Seoul by General Choi Hong Hi on 22 March 1966, is a separate, still-active body not recognized for Olympic competition. 2
Classification
Olympic Programme Status
Current Olympic Sport 1
Connections

Associated With

Martial Arts, Sports
Source Wikipedia, Martial Arts

Derived From

Karate, Sports

Why this is disputed. Revisionist scholarship, described as the prevailing theory, roots taekwondo in karate; traditionalists hold its origins are indigenous Korean.

Source Wikipedia, Taekwondo

Featured In

Source Wikipedia: Olympic sports

Governed By

Source Wikipedia, World Taekwondo

Played By

Steven Lopez, Athletes
Source Wikipedia, Steven Lopez (taekwondo)
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Kidokwan, General Choi Hong Hi Historical Archive
Kidokwan Martial Arts Research Institute
  • general-choi-hong-hi-2
  • entity record, description (olympic-status)
    governed Olympic taekwondo since Sydney 2000.
View the Source
2. Olympedia, Independent Olympic Reference Database
Olympediaorganizations/108View the Source
Wikipedia, Taekwondo
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Taekwondo (/ˌtaɪkwɒnˈdoʊ, ˌtaɪˈkwɒndoʊ, ˌtɛkwənˈdoʊ/; Korean: 태권도) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching.
  • Infobox, romanizations
    tae kwon do
  • Derived From: Karate, Emergence of various kwans
    Traditionalism holds that the origins of taekwondo are indigenous while revisionism, the prevailing theory, argues that taekwondo is rooted in karate.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Steven Lopez (taekwondo)
Wikimedia FoundationPlayed By: Steven LopezView the Source
Wikipedia, World Taekwondo
WikipediaGoverned By: World Taekwondo (WT), Lead section, scope of governanceView the Source
Wikipedia: Olympic sports
Featured In: Olympic Games, Changes in Olympic sports
Quote, Featured In: Olympic Games, Changes in Olympic sports
Some such sports, like baseball and taekwondo, were later added to the official Olympic program (in 1992 and 2000, respectively).
View the Source
Wikipedia, Martial Arts
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Martial Arts, Unarmed, Strikes
Quote, Associated With: Martial Arts, Unarmed, Strikes
Kicking: Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Capoeira, Savate, Karate, Kung Fu, Taekyyon
View the Source
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Origin Year

The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded in Seoul by General Choi Hong Hi on 22 March 1966, holds itself, not World Taekwondo, as the authentic institutional continuation of Choi own 1955 naming of the art. After Choi went into exile in Canada in 1972 amid a dispute with the South Korean government, that government backed a separate body, established at the newly built Kukkiwon in Seoul on 28 May 1973 as the World Taekwondo Federation, now World Taekwondo, which the International Olympic Committee recognizes and which has governed Olympic taekwondo since Sydney 2000. The ITF continues to operate as a separate, still-active federation with its own competitions and lineage, disputing that Olympic recognition settles the question of which body legitimately continues Choi own founding act.

A dissenting reading, from International Taekwon-Do FederationInternational Taekwon-Do Federation, Official Site, International Taekwon-Do Federation

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.